"I just found out about this a few hours ago, leave me alone!" his father said.

Enright is being held without bail on hate crime and attempted murder charges.

His attorney has requested that his client be placed in protective custody.

"He's terrified, he's maybe been in one fight before and that was in high school," Enright's attorney said.

According to authorities, Enright hailed yellow cab at the intersection of Second Avenue and East 24th Street at 6:14 p.m. Tuesday.

Officials from the New York Taxi Workers Alliance said while traveling northbound, Enright asked the driver, 43-year-old Ahmed H. Sharif, how long he had been in America, if he was Muslim and if he was observing fast during Ramadan.

He then first became silent for a few minutes and then suddenly started cursing and screaming, officials said.

According to the statement, at Third Avenue between 40th and 41st Streets, Enright yelled, "Assalamu Alaikum. Consider this a checkpoint," and then slashed Sharif across the neck.

As Sharif went to knock the knife out, Enright, continuing to scream loudly, allegedly cut him in the face (from nose to upper lip), arm and hand.

Although Enright was intoxicated, investigators said he attacked only after Sharif confirmed he was Muslim. That led them to the bias crime determination.

No link to the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy has yet been established, however. "We have no reason to believe this is anything but an isolated incident," said an NYPD spokesperson.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he talked on the phone with Sharif and planned to meet with him on Thursday at CityHall.

"This attack runs counter to everything that New Yorkers believe, no matter what God we may pray to," he said. "We will continue to do everything possible to crack down on any crime that targets someone because of who they are or what they believe."

Governor Paterson released a statement on the attack saying:

"In the wake of the alleged hate crime against a New York City taxi driver, I must take this opportunity to remind New Yorkers that we cannot and will not allow bias and ignorance to infect our communities and deny our hard working, innocent residents the respect they deserve.

"The potential for this kind of violence is one of the reasons why I have called publicly for a respectful and unifying conversation about the Park51 project. I continue to offer my assistance for an open dialogue that I believe will help to bring New Yorkers together.

"Additionally, I'd like to thank the New York Police Department and first responders for their quick response to the scene and speedy apprehension of the suspect."

Enright is charged with attempted murder as a hate crime, as well as assault, harassment and criminal possession of a weapon.

The attempted murder as a hate crime charge is an A-1 felony, and carries the same penalty as murder, under New York state law.

The judge, Hon Shanawndya Simpson, listened, as Assistant DA James Zaleta read the allegations against Enright during the arraignment.

"This was a highly vicious attack on an innocent person based on his religion," he said.

Referring to the knife wound on the victim's neck, Zaleta said, "The EMTs told us that if it was any longer or deeper he would have been dead on the scene."

Although no knife was recovered, a sheath to a Leatherman was found in the back seat of the cab, Zaleta said.

"There's a healthy population of people of the Islamic faith in jail and they may prejudge the situation and, you know, something may happen to him and I want to prevent that," Martin told Eyewitness News reporter N.J. Burkett.

Enright was ordered held without bail, and will appear in court again on August 30th.